A wireless communication system typically includes portable communication units such as two-way radios, wireless terminals and computers, radio telephones, and the like. When operating over a wide geographical area, a wireless communications system is often organized into geographically based subregions for proper management of the system. Each subregion is served by a communication site which serves to manage, route, or enhance communication signals within the system. As the portable communication unit travels between regions, it may be necessary for a control or management function to be transferred among communication sites. In some systems, coordination occurs among sites to determine the site best suited to handle a particular communication unit. In other systems, the site selection function is manually or automatically performed at each communication unit. When such site selection is automatically performed at an individual communication unit, the resulting implementation logic can be quite complex.
A parameter often used in the site selection decision is the signal strength between the communication unit and the communication site. The signal strength may be measured from signals emitted from a communication unit or from a communication site. User preference, priority, site utilization, and other such parameters, may also contribute to the decision making process. Prior art methods for combining these parameters to determine a preferred communication site are generally complex in terms of implementation and execution. Such complexity requires substantial processing and storage resources at the communication unit to exploit these solutions.
It is desirable to provide automated communication site selection as a feature within a communication unit operating in a segmented wireless communication system. Preferably, the site selection feature should not be overly burdensome on the overall operation of the communication unit. Accordingly, such site selection must be provided in a manner which improves flexibility and efficiency, while reducing resource consumption and the associated costs at the communication unit. Therefore, an improved communication site selection scheme is needed.